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Reading Like a Writer

Questions for Reading Like a Writer

Here is a list of questions to ask yourself as you read [essays for this course]. These lines of inquiry will
lead you past your surface reactions as a reader (gee, I really liked that ending, or god, I hated that
line) and into a more rigorous engagement with the craft issues at work in prose. Read an essay once
for content; then read it again with a pen or pencil in hand to make note of
how
these writers make
literature out of experience.
Questions to Ask Yourself

What are the major themes of the piece? Are there any minor themes as well? Is there any kind
of subtext to the essay? What kind of murmur runs below the surface?

What specific details stay in your mind? Why? How does these small details lead to larger ideas?

Does any particular image repeat throughout the essay? If so, why did the author choose it?
Does it have metaphorical significance? Is it transformed in any way from beginning to end?

Find specific examples of abstract (ideas and concepts) and concrete (specific details, sensory
impressions) language. What are the effects?

How does the writer create characters?

Identify where the writer chooses to expand into a full-fledged scene. Is it a representative
scene or a specific one?

What kind of rhythm does the writer create? Is there a variety in the sentence structure? REad
the piece aloud to get a sense of the writers voice.

How does the writer structure the essay and to what effect? (Why does it begin where it does?
Why does it end with the image or scene the writer chose? Is it a linear narrative? Or one that is
fragmented or circular?

Break the piece down paragraph by paragraph (or section by section). How does each piece act
as a building block? How does the writer create dramatic tension or interest through these
building blocks?

Look at the transitions the writer makes, either between paragraphs or between sections. How
does she or he make these transitions? What effect do they have on the forward momentum of
the piece?

Look at the first and last paragraphs. Are they linked in any way? Do they echo each other?

How does the writer create significance? How does the piece move from the personal to the
universal?

Are there moments that seem weak or cliched to you? If so, why? If this were your essay, how
would you change these moments?

Is there anything about this essay that provides a model for your own writing?

Miller and Paola.

Tell It Slant.
Reading Like A Writer. 197-8